Hi all,
I was wondering what everyone thinks of getting autographs.
In other words, things signed by people who have something to do with what is getting signed.
Case in point.
I collect all things Firebird/Trans Am.
I got autographs for my 1989 20th TTA, and things for the 1980 Indy Turbo Trans Am.
Well, every year at SEMA, there are tons of people who will be there, signing items.
This year looks super, and I plan on bringing a ton of stuff.
I mean a ton of stuff.
Literary.
Like almost my whole collection.
There will be that many people signing.
NHRA drivers (who use to race Trans Ams, and be in Pontiac ads)
NASCAR drivers (who use to race Pontiac, and be in Pontiac ads)
Now, I don't intend to sell this stuff, but to keep it in my collection.
Would any/all of you, do the same?
I will be posting up some photos of what I have autographed soon.

Just wondering,

George

Personally, I'm not much into autographs. But that's just me. My rationale is that I've had experiences good and bad. I could see it if you caught a ball and wanted a player (or the team) to sign it. But to me, it messes up a car to have sigs on it, even in inconspicuous places. And if it ever needs a repaint or restoration, that would make it more difficult to justify.

I've had George Barris sign a couple of items, having met him several times over the course of the years, primarilly related to the TV Batmobile. But honestly? George will sign anything, regardless of whether or not he had anything to do with it. George tends to take credit for a lot of projects he wasn't involved in and has been accused of leading others to believe he was behind many of Tom Daniels' creations. As Barris gets older, his memory fails and his stories become even more incredulous, although my opinion isn't intended to detract from any of his legitimate projects. He is, after all, the "King of the Kustomizers".

I attended a Superhero Convention in Austin several years back. Both Adam West and Burt Ward were there. So was Frank Gorshin, who was battling cancer. Frank was signing things for free. Adam and Burt were exacting heavy fees on a per-item basis and their handler/managers were about as rude as you can get.

So, as I stated, my personal opinion is that autographs are over-rated. If it floats your boat to have items in your personal collection autographed, then do it. But to this collector, it doesn't really enhance the value and may even detract from it.

Well,
I did have my dash map pocket signed by Emmerson Fitappaldi , who won the 1989 Indy 500, in my 1989 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am.
I'm talking about diecast, and shirts and jackets, brochures, and books.
And I have tons of dupes of pretty much everything, so some are signed, some not.

I was heavy into Star Trek for quite awhile, and met and talked with quite a few of the stars and actors.
I have a fair number of autographs from them.
Yes, some want money, and I won't pay.
But some have been very nice and polite.
I talked with James Doohan for about a half hour.

Yes, I have met Geroge Barris as well.
Mostly at SEMA.
We always talk about thew Trans Ams he built.
To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure I have his autograph.

George

OK,
You have seen quite a bit of my autograph collection of stuff, what do you all think?
To me, it makes my collection more personal.
Would you do the same as me, and get things signed?

Tell me,

George

Yeah, I guess I would, given the opportunity on stuff like souvenier programs and magazine ads, etc. But I just don't care for it on diecase, packaging or actual cars. To me, that crosses the line between preservation and modifying. I confess to being a preservationist first and a modifyer second.

One Item I posess (non Trans Am-related) that might be worth something someday is an artist's proof of the Apollo 11 flight patch signed by all three astronauts (Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, as well as the artist who designed it. It's a 30" x 30" wallhanging that I keep perserved in storage. When I build my gameroom/home theater, I may decide to display it. When I first came to work for Shell, the artist was a coworker in the graphics department, having begun a second career after retiring from NASA. He had tried to generate a little interest in '94 for the 25th anniversary of the moon landing. He sold a few and gave me one for helping him out. It is signed and dated and came with a dossier that includes bios on the astronauts, the artist and the mission.

That's why I get dupes.

George

I currently have an autographed 7time Winston Cup Dale Earnhardt Sr. t-shirt signed by him!!!! I remember that day well!!! I stood in line 2 hours so i could hand my tshirt to a guard and he handed it to Dale and Dale never looked up!!!! He then handed the shirt to another guard who handed to me and said have a good day!!!! I was a little upset but I still have the shirt!!! He should've been the one to hand me the shirt but God bless him, I still am a fan and feel that there will be no other like him!!!!!

i have a very rare smokey and the bandit 2 book autographed by jerry ,burt and sally from 1980 and have had general lees ive built autogrpahed

I tend to get autographs on a variety of things. As far as Trans-Am related I got John Schinella to sign my Trans-Am hat. Now when I get autographs, I have them made out to me to make the more personal.

I would have to go with Hooper on this one. I would like to get my Firebird hats signed by Burt Reynolds. I feel proud wearing them & showing them off, but that would make me that much more proud.